The Supreme Court announced that it has granted review in two new appeals. One matter is before the Court on leave to appeal, while the Court granted certification in the other case.
The leave to appeal case is Rodriguez v. Shelbourne Spring. The question presented, as phrased by the Supreme Court Clerk’s office, is “In this matter in which plaintiff received benefits from his employer under the Workers’ Compensation Act and subsequently filed suit against his employer alleging that his injuries were caused by his employer’s negligence, gross negligence, recklessness, and intentional misconduct, was the employer’s insurance company obligated to defend the employer under the liability insurance policy?” In the Law Division, the insurer moved to dismiss for failure to state a claim, and the insured employer cross-moved for summary judgment, contending that the insurer was obligated to defend the employer against plaintiff’s claims. The Law Division granted the insurer’s motion to dismiss and denied the employer’s cross-motion. A three-judge panel of the Appellate Division affirmed that ruling in an unpublished per curiam opinion.
The other new appeal is State v. Knight, which presents this question: “Was it permissible to replay video recordings multiple times in slow motion, and with intermittent pauses, at the jury’s request?” As discussed here, a three-judge panel of the Appellate Division found no error in the slow motion replays and affirmed the armed robbery convictions of the two brothers in these consolidated cases. That opinion was reported at 477 N.J. Super. 400 (App. Div. 2023).